Okay, so now that I am down to one puppy, our Storm Trooper, the house is very quiet. Maybe it's called Empty Kennel Syndrome. Now that I have time, I started looking for another female puppy to add to my breeding program. A while back we had a gentleman call and was interested in coming to the kennel to see our pups and meet Belle Starr and Shadow. He said something to me that really struck home. He said that it was nice to talk to a breeder that was cordial and friendly and didn't act as if it was a privilege to even speak to them let alone visit their kennel. Needless to say, he visited our kennel and put in a request for a puppy out of our next litter. Now as I am looking for a pup and looking at many sites, talking to a few of the big breeders, I know exactly what he means. It's like you are at their beck and call and really shouldn't bother them and how dare you want to look and buy one of their pricey labs, especially for breeding and showing. And then it's also like some and I say some, are the gods of the labradors. Some don't even put down their phone numbers and it is a task just to get them to call you. I realize that I'm not an expert at this, but I do know what I want for my kennel and that is a well rounded lab that is a good pet, companion, hunter, or therapy dog. With this past litter, I feel that I met that criteria and whelped good solid pups with good bloodlines. So, my journey has just begun.. And may I never forget to be friendly and treat fellow lab lovers with up most respect.
With Princess Laylah (now Sage) is in her new home, I am focusing on Storm Trooper. He is coming along quite well with his training and is a handsome mellow little guy. My goal for him is to be a therapy dog. If he turns out to be blocky enough I will show him as well. He is so eager to please and is so quiet, one doesn't even hardly know he is here. We make sure that we spend a lot of time with him. Slowly, he is becoming part of the pack and has the run of the house more and more. Old Drake is so good with him, just like a grandpa. Abie has his respect and is his walking partner, but keeps his prestigious air about him. Shadow needs to get a daddy of the year award for he treats his son with love and care. Belle Starr is torn between being a mom and playmate. I believe that is due because we had to wean them from her at 4 weeks so she could get well. And Robin is Robin, but keeping her cool and staying away from him. Cow Dogs... What can I say. I'm trying to train Trooper to ring a bell to let us know he wants to go outside to potty. First I must train myself to ring the bell before I take him out potty. Work in progress.
